Taxes at Work: Overcrowded jail blamed for soaring overtime costs

Local inmates who must be incarcerated at the Rensselaer County Jail due to overcrowding at the Dutchess County Jail, are pictured being processed at the Dutchess County Jail before their local court appearances. Later in the day, they were transported back to the Rensselaer County Jail for housing.(Photo: Spencer Ainsley/Poughkeepsie Journal)Buy Photo

Overtime spending for the Dutchess County Sheriff's Office reached its highest level in at least the past five years in 2013, mostly due to the costs associated with housing out Dutchess County Jail inmates due to overcrowding, a Sheriff's Office official said.

The Sheriff's Office, including its correction division, spent about $5.46 million on overtime in 2013, nearly $900,000 more than the previous year. But the expenditure was still less than the $5.65 million in the county budget designated for overtime pay.

Undersheriff Kirk Imperati said the primary reason for the increase is the amount of overtime paid to officers who transport inmates to county jails across the state, plus the cost of maintaining certain staffing levels at the 292-bed jail, even if that means paying those employees overtime.

"We have to address this issue. We're at a tipping point," Imperati said about the jail overcrowding.

In hopes of finding a solution, the Dutchess County Legislature in December approved the purchase of 4.61 acres adjacent to the jail in the City of Poughkeepsie for a possible jail expansion.

Imperati said the jail houses out 200 or more inmates per day. The average length of stay for an inmate exceeds 50 days, up from 30 to 32 days three years ago, he said. It costs the county more than $8 million a year to transport inmates housed at other jails, such as for court appearances, according to county officials.

But overtime for employees is still more cost-effective than hiring, which would require additional salaries and benefits, Imperati said.

The Sheriff's Office has abolished some community policing programs and created a second shift in the detective division, Imperati said. Deputies are allowed overtime if they make an arrest or respond to a car crash at the end of their shifts to protect the integrity of the case, he said. Detectives also can work long days if it means they conclude an investigation, he said.

"We want them to do a thorough investigation and utilize all the proper resources to solve that crime," Imperati said.

Overtime can be needed when deputies or detectives have to appear in court, he added.

Susan MacDonald, 55, of the City of Beacon, wasn't upset about the overtime numbers.

"When it's warranted, they deserve their overtime," MacDonald said.

The Sheriff's Office patrols the 841 square miles of Dutchess County. The Sheriff's Office has a marine unit to navigate the Hudson River and also operates the "Are You Okay?" program for elderly or vulnerable adults, which MacDonald said deserves support.

Administrators use three-year and five-year trends to analyze how much overtime is needed, Imperati said.

The Sheriff's Office and its corrections division has a total budget of $56.57 million for 2014, up from $44.82 million in 2009.

Imperati chalked this rise up to unfunded mandates, contracts, rate-of-pay increases, the jail and medical expenses.